Serving an ultimatum to the government to fill vacant posts with “eligible candidates from Assam and the other northeastern states”, the youth organisation said it would intensify its agitation if the authorities did not take heed of its demand.

The AJYCP, however, said it would not oppose recruitment of “non-locals” as officers or skilled personnel if “local eligible candidates are not available”.

The Congress had promised cent per cent reservation of grade III and grade IV posts and 80 per cent reservation of grade II posts in all Central and semi-Central establishments.

Defining a “local candidate”, AJYCP president Apurba Kumar Bhattacharyya told a news conference here that a person could be deemed so if he or she had studied in Assam at the primary level and was registered at one of the district employment exchanges.

The AJYCP leader, whose organisation had recently staged a violent demonstration at Guwahati Doordarshan, warned of similar steps if local candidates continued to be ignored. “We should not be held responsible for any untoward situation resulting from our protests against violation of this ultimatum,” he said.

Police had fired four rounds in the air when about 150 AJPCP members ransacked the Guwahati Doordarshan Kendra on August 26. Fifty-six of the protesters were arrested and released on bail only after two days.

The AJYCP was protesting the recruitment of only one local candidate from among the hundreds who had applied for 250 technical posts.

Prior to this incident, activists of the All-Assam Students’ Union (AASU) had ransacked an office of the Northeast Frontier Railway. They were protesting against the alleged discrimination against local candidates.

Bhattacharyya said his organisation had joined hands with the AASU for a statewide agitation on the issue. He said all units had been asked to be alert to discrimination against local youth. “We hope that the authorities will not provoke us into resorting to forms of extreme protest. Delhi does not take heed of peaceful democratic movements, which is one of the reasons why a section of youth has taken up arms.”

The youth leader said merely appealing to militants to abjure violence would not yield any result. “The Centre should realise that the youth want employment opportunities, not empty promises. It should fulfil the aspirations of the indigenous people before it is too late,” he added.

The AJYCP has asked the Central and state governments to announce the number of vacancies in various departments so that “eligible local candidates” can apply for these posts. The organisation is planning to open an information centre exclusively for the unemployed youth of the region.